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Shade Readies The Troops For Saxons

Head coach Shade Munro [pictured] has challenged his Scotland A charges to complete a home and away double over England Saxons this Friday (kick-off 8pm) and set the tone for the nation's RBS 6 Nations championship.

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Warriors forwards coach Munro has included eight Glasgow Warriors in the back-up senior side, including a start for young scrum half Sean Kennedy and the captain's armband for number 8 Ryan Wilson.

Last season Scotland A ran in four unanswered tries to win 35-0 against their English counterparts at Netherdale, and now prepare for a return fixture at Kingston Park, the home of Newcastle Falcons.

Munro said: 'this is the first senior representative match of 2013 for a Scottish side and, as an opener for the RBS 6 Nations Championship, we have the opportunity to put a marker down and show what Scottish rugby is about, while those selected have an excellent chance to show why they deserve to feature in the remainder of the RBS 6 Nations campaign.

"However, with just one game for the Scotland A team this season, these elements are really an aside to our main objective. Everything this team has done has been designed to put us in a position to beat the England Saxons at Newcastle.

"Our commitment to our defensive structure and aggression, our discipline and our willingness to support one another if and when we have the chance to cut loose in attack are of paramount importance."

Ten of the squad that secured the emphatic win last year went on to earn full international honours, with six of the 22-man squad returning to face the Saxons once more: centre Alex Grove (Worcester Warriors), prop Jon Welsh, lock Tom Ryder (both Glasgow Warriors), and back-row trio Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby), Richie Vernon (Sale Sharks) and captain Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors).

Bath Rugby's Tom Heathcote, who earned his first and only cap to date in the 2012 EMC Tests, starts at stand-off along side 21-year-old scrum-half, Kennedy, one of the eight uncapped players in the starting-lineup.

The 24-times capped Worcester Warriors winger Nikki Walker completes a long-awaited return to the international fold, after a knee injury in the 2011 EMC Tests ruled him out of a then certain spot in the senior Rugby World Cup squad.

His inclusion adds experience to the back-line, which is completed by uncapped Edinburgh Rugby full-back Greig Tonks and 2012 Melrose Sevens winner, Duncan Taylor (Saracens), both of whom qualify for Scotland through Scottish parents: Taylor through mother and father Lindsay and Colin, from Stranraer and Glasgow respectively, and Tonks through his Ayrshire-born mother, Lena.

Lock Ryder will line-up alongside fellow Glasgow Warrior Tim Swinson in the second-row, Swinson returning to Kingston Park for the first time since joining the RaboDirect PRO12 side in the summer.

The pack is set by a pacy, ball-carrying back-row, with number 8 Wilson (a replacement in the previous Saxons clash) selected to partner McInally and Vernon, who start on the blind and open-side flanks respectively.

Finally the bench features six new faces to Scotland's national fold, with Newcastle Falcons prop Grant Shiells, Glasgow Warriors" prop Gordon Reid (an unused replacement in the 2012 EMC Test against Tonga), Edinburgh Rugby trio Robert McAlpine (lock), Dougie Fife (wing) and Alun Walker (hooker), and London Scottish scrum-half Jamie Stevenson, all invited to impress off the bench.

Finally the inclusion of Edinburgh Rugby centre Ben Cairns signals his first involvement in a senior representative side since he earned his seventh cap against Argentina in the 2009 Autumn Tests.

Scotland A team to play England Saxons at Kingston Park, NewcastleFriday 1 February (kick-off 8pm) - live on SkySports 2